This revision podcast is aimed at students studying GCSE and IGCSE History. It focuses on striking a balance between the successes and failures of the League of Nations in the 1920s, in order to best help students revise for an exam question on this topic. It opens with advice on how to plan an answer to a ‘how far’ question by assigning a score out of 10 for how successful different events were for the League of Nations. You might also like to watch this video about answering a question on how successful the League of Nations was in the 1920s.

The podcast goes on to detail different challenges faced by the League of Nations during the 1920s, in order to provide students with adequate evidence to support a balanced answer. Specific attention is given to the Leagues’s successes in the Upper Silesia Dispute, the Aaland Islands, and Greco-Bulgarian Dispute. Other successes of the League are given, such as the League’s social policies and the work of the various commissions.

The successes of League are then contrasted with the League’s failures during the same period. Key examples of failure that are outlined include the Vilna Dispute, the Corfu Crisis, and disarmament. For more detail on the League’s attempts at disarmament, and advice on how to answer a question about it, check out the exam tips video here.

On the 8th July 1932, the Dow Jones Industrial Average – a key indicator of the value of America’s biggest companies – fell to its lowest point during the Great Depression that began with the Wall Street Crash.

This GCSE and IGCSE revision podcast focuses on the period following the Wall Street crash in 1929, when the world was plunged into a huge economic depression which ultimately led to strained relations between countries as they tried to survive at all costs. While the 1920s saw presented a mix of both success and failure for the League of Nations, the 1930s arguably saw its complete collapse.

The first section of the podcast looks at the Manchurian Crisis. Beginning with an explanation of its causes, the episode goes on to describe the League’s response and the effect that this had on the long-term reputation of the League. This is followed by a brief description of the World Disarmament Conference of 1932-33.

The second part of the podcast focuses on the Abyssinia Crisis. Again beginning with the causes of the crisis, the podcast then describes the League’s response. Reference is made to the immensely damaging Hoare-Laval Pact, followed by an explanation of how the League’s failure to deal decisively with Mussolini’s aggression against Abyssinia rendered the League of Nations powerless to deal with Hitler’s subsequent aggression.

The major events of the 1930s for the League of Nations including the Manchuria Crisis, the World Disarmament Conference and the Abyssinia Crisis.